Comedians share support for Russell Howard after star 'storms out' of gig

The stand-up is thought to have cut his set short after he spotted a member of the audience filming him  
The star left the gig after just five minutes
NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Kimberley Bond14 August 2020
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Comedians have backed Russell Howard’s decision to cut a gig short after a woman in the audience tried to film him.

The 40-year-old, who was previously a regular on Mock the Week and also hosts Russell Howard’s Good News, was five minutes into his set at Bristol city centre bar Bambalan when he saw an audience member pointing her phone at him, according to Bristol Live.

Bristolian native Howard told the woman “that’s literally the worst thing you can do” before chastising her for filming him “at his place of work”.

Explaining he was going to use the gig to sample new material, a rattled Howard told the crowd he would now be doing “an old routine”, before losing his way and telling the woman who had been filming: “You've ruined it now".

Shappi Khorsandi has backed Howard 
WireImage

"I was really looking forward to this gig," he said, before apologising to the crowd and leaving the stage.

While some people on social media have been critical of Howard’s approach, other stand-ups have expressed support for the star, with Shappi Khorsandi writing on Twitter: “With Russell on this.

“Last year a woman did this to me…kills spontaneity, trust and intimacy of a live show.”

Follow comedian Sofie Hagen added: “I agree 1000 per cent with Shappi and Russell.”

Elsewhere, Britain’s Got Talent comic Danny Posthill agreed that too many people are resorting to getting their phones out at gigs.

Sofie Hagen has also backed the comedian
Karla Gowlett

“Good for you, Russell Howard,” he said. “I don’t blame you, there’s too many people getting their phones out at gigs. ‘If the performer wants his stuff recorded he will get it recorded at his own accord.”

The audience had paid £5 for tickets to the event, with Jarred Christmas, Abi Clarke and Louise Leigh also performing.

A spokesperson for Russell Howard told the Evening Standard: "Any comedian whose set is being recorded at a new material night would find it distracting. The beauty of live performance particularly at this strange time is it's intended for the room only."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in